Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Lydia Wegman, former Director of the Air Quality Strategy and Standards Division at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regarding her role in developing and implementing the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone and particulate matter, specifically in conjunction with John Beale, former senior EPA official and convicted felon.

"EPA has an ongoing transparency problem in that they refuse to share with the American public and Congress the underlying data used to justify their expensive and burdensome regulations," said Vitter. "We need to understand the history behind John Beale and his contemporaries crafting the 1997 NAAQS because to this day, EPA continues to use the same questionable and controversial science to advance even more rules and regulations that have devastating effects on our economy and businesses."

In the letter, Vitter asks Wegman to clarify her role in denying access to the two main studies that were used to support the EPA's rulemakings under the Clean Air Act, including the 1997 NAAQS for ozone and particulate matter.

In March, 2014, EPW Republicans released a report entitled, "EPA's Playbook Unveiled: A Story of Fraud, Deceit, and Secret Science," which detailed Beale's role in major policy decisions at EPA, including his ownership of the 1997 NAAQS for ozone and particulate matter. Click here to read more.